The Associated Press’ firing of reporter Emily Wilder over pro-Palestinian tweets continues to be a decision that the news agency’s top editors defend.
In an appearance on CNN’s Reliable Sources, AP managing editor Brian Carovillano stated to host Brian Stelter that they fired Wilder, who was two weeks into her tenure with the news agency, due to the “clear bias” that her tweets displayed.
“It’s really important that we maintain our credibility on these stories,” Carovillano said. “Journalists’ safety is at stake, and the AP’s credibility is at stake. Our credibility is constantly under attack. Our social media guidelines exist to protect that credibility because protecting our credibility is the same as protecting journalists.”
Stelter pressed Carovillano on the decision to fire Wilder as he stated whether the Stanford College Republicans revealing Wilder’s past pro-Palestine tweets had anything to do with their decision. The AP managing editor denied that it played a role.
“You know, this is the Associated Press, so anyone who thinks that the AP would be cowed by the College Republicans does not know very much about the AP,” Carovillano said.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
